AQW, the Child, the Blade, the Axe
by ejdr98
Summary: a story about a young boy, whose heritage was forgotten, trying to make it in lore. little does he know that he is a vital piece in a series of events that will unfold around him, good or evil, rightious or wretched, what will he become?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: How it all began.

In the world of lore, one needs to be born with a sword in their hands and a good head on their shoulders, in the case of Titus voorshak, maybe he should've just stuck to his family's business, blacksmithing. But his family's business was long overdue from reality, when he was just a boy, at the age of two, his village was attacked, ransacked by the nearby horcs, over a roast of frogzard. Ironically, they said it was too undercooked and punted the chef into the cooking pit. Now, almost fourteen years later, our hero Titus, whom he resides with his brother, Tomass, in the distant town of battleon, nearly four weeks journey over harsh seas and through a vast, deadly desert, they have been in in this town for their short, yet miserable lives. Tomass was a thief, providing whatever he could for his baby brother, now, he became the true lord of the thieves. He taught his brother in the art of thievery and swordsmanship, yet he has not seen the outside wonders of this world. He has not truly seen the world of lore, through the eyes of a hero, through the eyes of a teen. Sixteen years, the age when a boy becomes a man in lore, he has not yet slew a wretched zard, nor tasted freedom of his small town, but today, he shall let it be known, that he is a force to be reckoned with, to be the gratitude of the poor and bane of the rich and corrupted, he shall be Titus the Red, true son of lore! On this day, there is a dark, ominous cloud reaching from far into skullholme, reaching its bony tendrils over to swordhaven. Titus hears a familiar voice, his thieving brother calls out to him.

"Titus! Boy! Go to the sword haven market and buy us some prized meat from the royal cattle, here, this should cover it, and then some! Bwahahahahahahaha!" went Tomass' famous guffaw, the one he was known for from battleon to doomwood.

"Aye brother, I'll be back before sundown, may your pockets grow heavy with gold!" said Titus as he left running, but he had thought of one thing, of the thieves in the wretched back alleys of sword haven , he had over seventy-five thousand gold, two cuts of prized cattle would be only fifty thousand, the other twenty-five could get him some new clothing and a set of daggers. Off he went to Yulgar's inn, where the best steel in all of lore is forged, and for a reasonable offer, as his brother told him the wise words of his late father. "One must value his blade, wits, and capabilities over all else, and when in doubt, figure a way out!" Those words echoed through the cave of a skull, bouncing off the walls, echoing with reason.

"Aye! M'lad, how be it today, hmmm, those clouds over there in sword haven, lookin' mighty suspicious eh? Bwarharharhar!" said Yulgar, cleaning one of his mugs. "Listen to me blather, what d'you need laddy?" asked Yulgar.

"Wise old smith Yulgar, please forge me two light daggers, worthy of my late father, I've brought some ingots, please, forge me the greatest pair of daggers worthy of your name!" said Titus, almost trying not to beg. "Here, I'll compensate you for the work, how does twenty-five thousand gold sound?" Added Titus.

"Ahhhhh, mighty fine offer boy, I'll forge you some steel-leather armor, one mustn't go out unprotected these days!" said Yulgar, bringing his hammer down on a piece of metal.

After what two hours of forging, his noteworthy items were forged. The daggers were well balanced, and sharp enough to cut through horc steel, and have great aerodynamics when thrown. And the armor was well suited, flexible yet strong, like what a true rogue and thief needs. He left for the long trek to swordhaven, taking in the sights of life outside battleon, peaceful, except for the occasional attack of zardman or zard, even the little sneevils were sort of funny, always spouting lines about boxes, the most superior choice for storage.

He had arrived in swordhave by three in the afternoon, just when the good cuts were sold, he hurried to find that the crowds were gone, replaced with skeletons, brandishing large weapons that would kill a draconian dead in one hit, the cold, lifeless glow of their eyes signified one, dark thing. They were the undead servants of Sepulchure, The kind of death. There wasn't time for rationality nor making peace, would you like having a hammer to the face or an axe in the back, no, no you wouldn't. Titus was quick on his feet, and even quicker with a blade, they didn't even have time for their shrill screech before a dagger was jammed down their skeletal jaws, still writhing before they turned into a pile of bleached bones. Then came the mages, sporting flames and ice, burning the town red, and chilling it blue, all at the same time. They were weaker than their sword toting brethren. Then a horn blew, and the iron monger appeared, a warrior from the nightmares of paladins everywhere. Armor so thick and vile like the walls of a fortress, a sword so large a mountain would run, and eyes so red even the most violent shade of crimson would look pink. So now, this was Titus' last moments, should he run, the warriors will decimate him; standing his ground is virtually suicide.

"Mother, Father, your child is coming home" his last words. As his eyes shut for the last time, all the sounds faded, and then a cry shot out.

"FOUL CREATURE, PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY BLINDING AXE OF LIGHT!"

A loud crack pierced the air, as though a lumberjack had ripped into a very strong oak, then a roar like a wounded horc shot through the land, and then an earth-shaking rumble shook the ground. When the boy opened his eyes, a triumphant Paladin stood atop the sliced skull, axe thrown over his shoulder, hair blowing in the winds, while embers backlit his appearance.

He mouthed only the words: "who are you", jaw open in awe.

"I, kid, am Artix von Krieger, Paladin and undead slayer extraordinaire!" shouted the paladin.

"Oh, whoa, so slaying the hordes of undead is your job, AWESOME!" shouted the young Titus, sounding childish.

"Yup, king alt- KING ALTEON! Kid we gotta get to the castle, HURRY!" shouted the paladin, realizing what this initial attack was, a simple diversion while the powerhouse units converged to the royal castle.

Read on in chapter 2 to find out more


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The choice

As the shock of realization hit Artix, they were all too late, the castle was sieged, the only thing that would make this worse is if some random event unfolded before their eyes, and yup, karma is a terrible thing. Out of nowhere, a giant's skeleton blocked the drawbridge, holding a sword as big as a statue, his eyes had that same red glow, the one that you would know would be the last thing you'd see before you die. The beast let out a warning cry, but the heroes stood their ground, the creature started slamming it's sword on the ground, but the heroes just stood stronger. Then something snapped inside that crazed giant, it said an actual word, albeit one that was almost nothing, like wind blowing through its bones.

"" "killlllllll" "KILLLLLLLLL!" and it began to run like, like, I haven't a clue, but let me tell you, that thing was crazy. The heroes dodge this charge, but as the giant's sword impaled the barbershop, Artix shattered a piece of his foot, while Titus climbed to its skull, slashing like there was no tomorrow. With the two hacking at this foul monster, they would be done in mere seconds, but it wasn't so easy, this was a giant, the race is known for its strong bones, which are prized for their durability and heaviness. Then a bloodcurdling screech broke the air, so loud the glass broke on every window, and a small vase in battle broke, the heroes could not stop now.

"Kid, shove this in its mouth, better yet, break its jaw!" shouted Artix.

"Yeah, breaking its jaw is easy, ok, I'm going for the jaw!" replied Titus.

As he reached for the skulls jaw with his foot, he knew this wasn't going to cut it, so he jumped and cut the jaw off at the hinges. The look of shock on that skeleton was good enough for both the heroes, so they cut their losses and finished the job together, by cross slashing the creature's skull until it just became a pile of dead bones. When the job was done, they headed into the castle, the horrors they saw were indeed, horrors. The bodies of the knight's lay dead, while skeletons hack at the remains, no honoring the dead with these sick monsters, they must be stopped! The only person that was fending off staves of the undead was Robinya Hood, the female archer, when Artix caught sight of her, that was the end of the smooth undead slayer, then came in his place the awkward lover boy. As you see, artix has had a crush on Robinya for as long as he could remember, and he honored her cause, to give to the poor, even if they were animals! So as he and Titus approached. Before they could even think, Robinya shouted.

"GET DOWN, IDIOTS!" she said as an arrow flew from her bow, striking a Viking skeleton in the eye socket, and it said "AREWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" as it fell to the cold granite floor. Artix was never smooth with girls, for as long as he could remember, he always was an outcast with them, the approach was way off, and he couldn't talk. So this time, he tried his hardest.

"Robinya, hey, nice to have a good archer on our side, what's the report." Said Artix, while trying to look smooth, brushing his hair as the words flew out of his mouth.

"Uh, um, report is that these creatures came from Sepuclhure's flying castle, these are his elite units. Cruelty is their best trait, handpicked from his army for this job." She managed; I guess the feelings are mutual between Artix and Robinya! So, as Robinya explained, there are five knights who saw the initial attack, and they are still alive, but heavily guarded by the best, the war hammer totting warriors, and they must find out what happened to the castle. Off to the first knight.

"ok, kid, I'll go to the front, you go to the back, and just fight off of surprise, get it?" whispered artix.

"Aye, Artix, I'm a thief, I am stealthy, how do you think me and my brother made it through life?" whispered back Titus, revealing his past to Artix. Titus and Tomass had no family left in all of lore, and the only way Tomass could feed his baby brother was if he stole, it was a sad existence as children, stealing to live, when the thieves guild excepted Tomass when he was sixteen, Titus was still just ten, too innocent and pure to see what was going on in that madhouse, so they bought the two a house. Everything was smooth sailing from there, lots of money and food; it was like they got a divine wish granted. Every night as a child, Titus would pray to the gods of lore, praying, wishing that they would get enough food, that they would live another day, that was what happened. In the form of many dark figures, many people, some were good, others terrible. The thieves guild was all they had, now they are living the life that they wanted, eating three meals a day and going to bed knowing that they would live tomorrow, and the day after, knowing no real harm could come to them. Now back to the present.

King Alteon is in danger, the plot was to attack swordhaven to distract the king and send all his best troops there, while the inexperienced and weak would die here, the three broke into the stairwell to the throne room but before they could go in, this was the final scene that played out.

"Robinya, I don't know how to put this, but, I love you, I always have, and always will, so forgive me for this but-" before Artix could finish Robinya pushed up to him and whispered:

"I always felt that way too." And the two kissed, and it was one that was true, pure, one that would make the two whole, a couple. "" shouted Titus, showing his approval. "uh you guys, king Alteon would not approve of this at the moment, we must save him, ah forget it, I'll go in!" said Titus.

He witnessed a duel, a mighty one between good and evil, one that would make a man want to join in, when Aleton and Sepulchure saw the boy, together, they echoed:

"good or evil, boy, good or evil!"


End file.
